Guide to buying a Genuine Rolex

17th Mar 2014
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by Melissa

The Rolex watch is a status symbol, it’s the Rolls Royce of all Watches. It is also the most copied watch in the international market today. Originally founded by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, England in 1905 as 'Wilsdorf and Davis', today Rolex is the top selling high quality watch.

If you buy direct from an official outlet or watch store you will pay full price and get a genuine watch. However, it is possible to get a genuine Rolex watch from us at a discounted price. You are much better off buying a watch from a reputable business that has a good reputation to uphold. By keeping our profit percentage to a minimum, we are able rollover the savings into the pockets of our ever-growing customer base. Low prices & a guarantee'd genuine item.

For the budding watch collector looking to pick up a bargain themselves, we have compiled a list of hints/factors to try and help you differ the real thing from the sea of fakes currently circulating online.

The use of a cruder / larger crown in the 12 o'clock position is the most common feature on a fake Rolex, designed so you can spot it easily while it's on your wrist. Genuine dials have a crown which is much more subtle and it is usually difficult to spot with the naked eye with ease when at a distance. Also pay attention to the lettering on the dial. Rolex dials are flawless. There should be no bubbling, unaligned text etc.

If you can remove the watchband, check between the lugs at the 12 position and see if it has an engraved 'registered design' number. If you see no number, more than likely a fake. Now check between the lugs at the 6 position. Here you should see the serial number of the case. If there is no number, once again more than likely a fake.

Check the watch bands and look at the clasp. The Rolex clasp should be nicely engraved with the old original Rolex emblem. This appears on both gold and stainless clasps. Some new Rolex models have added model number engravings on the end of the watch end-link. This engraving includes the band model as well as two small Rolex crowns. This however has started to be copied by fake producers so be mindful.

On gold coloured watches, look for signs of wear to the lug ends and on the case backs. Fake's will often display areas where the gold colour has worn off, exposing the cheap white coloured base metal of the case below.

Another thing to look for is the weight of the watch. A genuine gold Rolex watch will be very heavy in comparison to a fake gold watch. This is because the weight of gold is much greater than the weight of a base metal. Stainless steel Rolex watches also has more weight to them because stainless is also much thicker and heavier than the base metal used in cheap fake watches.

If you hear loud ticking coming from the watch, this Rolex is a definite fake. Rolex watches do not make the typical ticking noises common with other watches. General manufacturers haven't perfected the gears in which a Rolex posses and so a ticking noise is made.

A genuine Rolex is perfect in every way. The date if viewed through the Cyclops is dead center, no shifting to the left or right. The Cyclops is the glass magnifier on top of the Crystal (glass). On a genuine Rolex it will magnify 2.5 times. So the number should look large. The replicas magnify at approx 1x if at all.

The most replicated Rolex is the Datejust, followed by the Daytona and Submariner.

Just like in real estate location is very important. If you’re buying a Rolex in a side alley or at a local swap meet, the chances are a lot higher that this watch is a fake.

Some of the new high quality fakes are now circulating on eBay and are hard to spot, so it will pay to do a little research. If someone has been buying used jeans or a $15 child car seat, would this same person just happen to have a $10,000 new Rolex for sale they no longer need? Look at the feedback, look at what they have been buying and selling.